Monaco's Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene expecting baby

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco announced Friday they're expecting their first child.

Expecting it to do ... what?

The 56-year-old prince and his 36-year-old former South African Olympic swimmer, who married in 2011, issued a statement to share their ''immense joy.''

Is there any other kind?

The statement, which was short, according to the Associated Press, said the birth is expected before the end of the year.

Apparently this is big news in Monaco for other than obvious reasons. Speculation has dogged the princess over why, after nearly three years of marriage, she hasn't provided an heir to the throne.

Apparently, Monaco has never heard that saying about how it takes two to tango. Or it needs a new collective hobby.

Until the baby is born, the throne of the country smaller than New York's Central Park is still set to pass to Albert's older sister, Princess Caroline. The country's constitution had been altered to permit Caroline a claim during Prince Albert's tenure because citizens were concerned he wouldn't produce an heir, after years of high-profile romances with women like Brooke Shields, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.

Since we're here ... does Central Park have a king?

But it's not like that rascal Albert can't make children. The prince has acknowledged two who were born out of wedlock -- daughter Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and son Alexandre Coste -- making them ineligible for succession.

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The baby news is expected to elevate the couple's place in the public eye and set off a frenzy in the fashion press as to how the princess will dress the royal bump.

And I thought writing about the Kardashians was important to humanity ...

Princess Charlene is known for her elegant fashion style (duh), wearing designers like Giorgio Armani, who created her wedding dress.

Since hitching her wagon to the prince (I don't think anyone in Monaco calls it that), Charlene is styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. Previously, that title belonged to her husband's mother, Princess Grace, who died in 1982.

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